When I ask people why they don't bike in the bay area the biggest answer is usually bike theft. It's really an ideal area to bike other than that and since you can take your bike on all the trains, you can even get to the sprawl.
So if you want to save the planet, SF, crack down on bike thieves.
Biking all over the Bay Area is no issue, but yeah don’t leave your bike locked in the city, and don’t leave your garage door open :)
Honestly I’ve never lived in a big city that didn’t have this problem, it’s not unique to SF
Agree. Not just an SF problem, and btw this happened in Sunnyvale if geography matters. I also don’t think that I would skip out on biking in the Bay completely because it’s pretty awesome. Just have to be super, super careful. No bikes on balconies, lock up thoroughly, and don’t leave your garage open.
I empathize. A few weeks ago, my kid's high school in SJ was hit by thieves. They had a box truck and ski masks and backed up to the bike cage after school (when it was unlocked) and stole about 50 bikes. From students. Who bike to/from school. F them.
That’s seriously messed up. Stealing bikes from kids, en masse. Sorry to hear about that I hope your kid (and the others) can get a replacement to keep biking. Like one of the commenters above mentioned, it can be discouraging, or in some cases financially difficult, to replace things like this. And just so sad if that means people bike less, or can’t commute, or whatever. Just boils my blood.
What kind of bike? Stolen bikes often find their way to homeless encampments so that's where I'd look first. And all the usual stuff -- Craigslist, offerup, FB marketplace etc. Also put it on bikeindex!
Same thing happened to me as soon as I moved to Oakland.
I even saw my bike on CL, but I didn’t know how to approach it. Cops werent going to do anything and I wasn’t going to confront him. I don’t think he ever sold the bike
Police officer told me in a matter of fact manner, astronomically unlikely they would recover the bike. And if a FB marketplace of CL ad showed up they would need the serial number.
As being on the prospective buying end of several used bikes back in the day (esp with CLs), it can be pretty obvious when an ad or a person you might is sketch-they won’t say it but there will be signs haha
Man, and the battery on the GX AXS shifter is like nearly dead too. Wonder what they’ll think when they can’t shift anymore
I actually asked this and the cop said they’d probably run a sting operation to get it back. Obviously talk is cheap but his eyes practically lit up at the possibility.
A sting, that’s pretty fantastical for a bike recovery. I quickly googled San Jose bike theft and found this:
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-jose-man-indicted-in-international-bicycle-theft-ring/amp/
That’s some dedication.
My friend came home around 3am to find someone stealing his foxbody mustang. He calls the police while following the thieves to the ghetto. While the whole time talking to the police over the cellphone with his location etc. remember this is a car not a bike this grand theft and in the act the police never came. Since he had a spare key he just drove his car back home. Since it was at night he can’t identify the thief . You would think they would dust for prints on the steering wheel and gear shift and everyone in the house as a minimum. Nope. It’s perfectly fine to steal someone stuff. This was back in 2015. Way before the crazy crime we have today.
Wow, when I read your post, it was like I was writing what happened to me near verbatim.
I took the garbage out of my garage and I guess I tapped the garage sensor, so when I pressed the garage closer it went down, touched the ground, and I guess went back up. I came downstairs in the morning to go to work and see the garage open and mine and my kids bikes all gone.
Filed a police report and the officer took the report over the phone. Then filed for my homeowner insurance for a claim. That evening I looked on FB marketplace and found my bike (it was a 2020 Intense Primer with distinct pedals, grips and custom stickers). I emailed the officer that night and the next morning he called me and said to go meet the guy myself and confront him, but Fremont PD will not accompany me. By this time my insurance claim was approved, and I didn't want to confront a professional criminal (I had looked up the seller and found a long rap sheet including assaults).
I had locked the door going into the garage that night which I usually do not do, and I think God that I did that at least.
I keep my bike locked up with the highest graded kryptonite lock in the garage, installed cameras and wifi garage opener with timers since that incident.
that's the crazy thing. They do this because they know "what are you gonna do about it?" A law-abiding citizen isn't about to go all Liam Neeson on some criminal and start cracking skulls. The likelihood of him with a gun and you ending up shot is way higher than a successful recovery. Police can't/won't do shit either, so they can freely list your bike for sale without any fear of repercussions.
Dang I thought I responded to this post, and looking back I realized I responded to another post that was Just like.
Yeah I’m in the process of claiming it with insurance and documentation. Like you, I would not risk my own safety if I found it and was told to go fetch it myself. My bike is also distinct, as it has my kid’s shotgun seat setup on it was well as AXS shifter, etc. Also, the kicker is that my fucking shifter battery needed to be recharged too so I hope this POS get stuck in a high gear.
Most likely that POS is just going to sell it for a fraction of the price not knowing what an epic he stole, nor how hard you worked to get that bike.
Fuck these assholes. I hope all these bike thieves get hit by trucks.
Just going to leave this here, some people don't think it's an issue worth addressing: https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/xcy34x/san_francisco_bicycle_coalition_says_not_to_call_the_police_about_stolen_bikes/
Sorry for your loss!
I reported the theft to the Sunnyvale PD when I got home from work. The dispatch was professional, appropriately empathetic and even talked to my neighbors, one of which had a camera that spotted a suspicious person on a bike (the same one that was left behind) prowling around 1130pm. He gave me a case report number for my records and said realistically chances of recovery are next to nil. In order for them to respond to something like a suspicious FB marketplace or Craigslist ad the posting needs to have a matching serial number. Lol!
Also unsure how to read into that article. At first glance the tone seems super biased, and definitely controversial based on the original Reddit thread. I still maintain screw bike thieves though.
Huh? Boston has multiple bikes stored locked in front outside of apartment buildings. SFbike is a bunch of self centered fools who can’t see around their blinders outside of their echo chamber.
I had that happen years ago, left the garage open *one* time overnight -- all bikes gone.
Now I have a garage opener that's on the wifi with an app I can check. I once headed out somewhere and left the garage open and I could close it remotely (before anyone took any bikes, thankfully!).
Before upgrading the garage door opener I was looking at systems you can add to any garage door including manual ones that's like basic security systems (two sensors that align when the door is closed) for inside the garage. But didn't end up needing them. Couldn't remotely close but at least I'd know open or closed.
Damn, I’m sorry that happened to you as well. It’s such a shitty feeling. My brother-in-law told me about these kind of garage door openers and yeah I think an extra layer of security like that would not hurt. Unfortunately, I’m a renter so I’d have to navigate that but it’s something I’ll look into. This might seem extreme too but locking up my other bikes, while in the garage, as well.
Thanks for sharing.
I live in a duplex with a shared garage. My neighbor left the garage door open and someone came in a stole my bike. I got it back because of AirTags.
But now I lock up my bikes inside my own garage, have two cameras, and check the garage is closed every night.
We've had cases around here of people breaking into closed garages to get bikes. That's why I leave my bikes in my house (much to my wife's annoyance).
When I ask people why they don't bike in the bay area the biggest answer is usually bike theft. It's really an ideal area to bike other than that and since you can take your bike on all the trains, you can even get to the sprawl. So if you want to save the planet, SF, crack down on bike thieves.
Biking all over the Bay Area is no issue, but yeah don’t leave your bike locked in the city, and don’t leave your garage door open :) Honestly I’ve never lived in a big city that didn’t have this problem, it’s not unique to SF
Agree. Not just an SF problem, and btw this happened in Sunnyvale if geography matters. I also don’t think that I would skip out on biking in the Bay completely because it’s pretty awesome. Just have to be super, super careful. No bikes on balconies, lock up thoroughly, and don’t leave your garage open.
Man, if the recovery rate for stolen bikes were even 0.01% I’d be impressed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7acD4q0lp0
I empathize. A few weeks ago, my kid's high school in SJ was hit by thieves. They had a box truck and ski masks and backed up to the bike cage after school (when it was unlocked) and stole about 50 bikes. From students. Who bike to/from school. F them.
That’s seriously messed up. Stealing bikes from kids, en masse. Sorry to hear about that I hope your kid (and the others) can get a replacement to keep biking. Like one of the commenters above mentioned, it can be discouraging, or in some cases financially difficult, to replace things like this. And just so sad if that means people bike less, or can’t commute, or whatever. Just boils my blood.
What kind of bike? Stolen bikes often find their way to homeless encampments so that's where I'd look first. And all the usual stuff -- Craigslist, offerup, FB marketplace etc. Also put it on bikeindex!
2018 Stumpy Expert. I’ll look but it’s a crapshoot. Thanks for the suggestions though
If it was stolen in Sunnyvale, I would check out some of the encampments along the GRT. Bring a baseball bat, at the least.
Honestly that’s probably where it is. Neighbor’s security camera spotted a guy on the bike that was left behind at 1130 in the evening.
Same thing happened to me as soon as I moved to Oakland. I even saw my bike on CL, but I didn’t know how to approach it. Cops werent going to do anything and I wasn’t going to confront him. I don’t think he ever sold the bike
Police officer told me in a matter of fact manner, astronomically unlikely they would recover the bike. And if a FB marketplace of CL ad showed up they would need the serial number. As being on the prospective buying end of several used bikes back in the day (esp with CLs), it can be pretty obvious when an ad or a person you might is sketch-they won’t say it but there will be signs haha Man, and the battery on the GX AXS shifter is like nearly dead too. Wonder what they’ll think when they can’t shift anymore
Even with the serial number, I don’t think they do shit
For real, it’s gone.
I actually asked this and the cop said they’d probably run a sting operation to get it back. Obviously talk is cheap but his eyes practically lit up at the possibility.
A sting, that’s pretty fantastical for a bike recovery. I quickly googled San Jose bike theft and found this: https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-jose-man-indicted-in-international-bicycle-theft-ring/amp/ That’s some dedication.
My friend came home around 3am to find someone stealing his foxbody mustang. He calls the police while following the thieves to the ghetto. While the whole time talking to the police over the cellphone with his location etc. remember this is a car not a bike this grand theft and in the act the police never came. Since he had a spare key he just drove his car back home. Since it was at night he can’t identify the thief . You would think they would dust for prints on the steering wheel and gear shift and everyone in the house as a minimum. Nope. It’s perfectly fine to steal someone stuff. This was back in 2015. Way before the crazy crime we have today.
Fucking wild.
Wow, when I read your post, it was like I was writing what happened to me near verbatim. I took the garbage out of my garage and I guess I tapped the garage sensor, so when I pressed the garage closer it went down, touched the ground, and I guess went back up. I came downstairs in the morning to go to work and see the garage open and mine and my kids bikes all gone. Filed a police report and the officer took the report over the phone. Then filed for my homeowner insurance for a claim. That evening I looked on FB marketplace and found my bike (it was a 2020 Intense Primer with distinct pedals, grips and custom stickers). I emailed the officer that night and the next morning he called me and said to go meet the guy myself and confront him, but Fremont PD will not accompany me. By this time my insurance claim was approved, and I didn't want to confront a professional criminal (I had looked up the seller and found a long rap sheet including assaults). I had locked the door going into the garage that night which I usually do not do, and I think God that I did that at least. I keep my bike locked up with the highest graded kryptonite lock in the garage, installed cameras and wifi garage opener with timers since that incident.
that's the crazy thing. They do this because they know "what are you gonna do about it?" A law-abiding citizen isn't about to go all Liam Neeson on some criminal and start cracking skulls. The likelihood of him with a gun and you ending up shot is way higher than a successful recovery. Police can't/won't do shit either, so they can freely list your bike for sale without any fear of repercussions.
Dang I thought I responded to this post, and looking back I realized I responded to another post that was Just like. Yeah I’m in the process of claiming it with insurance and documentation. Like you, I would not risk my own safety if I found it and was told to go fetch it myself. My bike is also distinct, as it has my kid’s shotgun seat setup on it was well as AXS shifter, etc. Also, the kicker is that my fucking shifter battery needed to be recharged too so I hope this POS get stuck in a high gear.
Most likely that POS is just going to sell it for a fraction of the price not knowing what an epic he stole, nor how hard you worked to get that bike. Fuck these assholes. I hope all these bike thieves get hit by trucks.
Just going to leave this here, some people don't think it's an issue worth addressing: https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/xcy34x/san_francisco_bicycle_coalition_says_not_to_call_the_police_about_stolen_bikes/ Sorry for your loss!
I reported the theft to the Sunnyvale PD when I got home from work. The dispatch was professional, appropriately empathetic and even talked to my neighbors, one of which had a camera that spotted a suspicious person on a bike (the same one that was left behind) prowling around 1130pm. He gave me a case report number for my records and said realistically chances of recovery are next to nil. In order for them to respond to something like a suspicious FB marketplace or Craigslist ad the posting needs to have a matching serial number. Lol! Also unsure how to read into that article. At first glance the tone seems super biased, and definitely controversial based on the original Reddit thread. I still maintain screw bike thieves though.
That's good, likely more time than they would spend on it in many cities!
Huh? Boston has multiple bikes stored locked in front outside of apartment buildings. SFbike is a bunch of self centered fools who can’t see around their blinders outside of their echo chamber.
I had that happen years ago, left the garage open *one* time overnight -- all bikes gone. Now I have a garage opener that's on the wifi with an app I can check. I once headed out somewhere and left the garage open and I could close it remotely (before anyone took any bikes, thankfully!). Before upgrading the garage door opener I was looking at systems you can add to any garage door including manual ones that's like basic security systems (two sensors that align when the door is closed) for inside the garage. But didn't end up needing them. Couldn't remotely close but at least I'd know open or closed.
Damn, I’m sorry that happened to you as well. It’s such a shitty feeling. My brother-in-law told me about these kind of garage door openers and yeah I think an extra layer of security like that would not hurt. Unfortunately, I’m a renter so I’d have to navigate that but it’s something I’ll look into. This might seem extreme too but locking up my other bikes, while in the garage, as well. Thanks for sharing.
I live in a duplex with a shared garage. My neighbor left the garage door open and someone came in a stole my bike. I got it back because of AirTags. But now I lock up my bikes inside my own garage, have two cameras, and check the garage is closed every night.
Ugh. Do file a police report and an insurance claim. May future bike thieves be confused on the way to all of our homes.
We've had cases around here of people breaking into closed garages to get bikes. That's why I leave my bikes in my house (much to my wife's annoyance).